In diagnosing and treating certain medical conditions, such as potentially cancerous tumors, it is usually desirable to perform a biopsy, in which a specimen of the suspicious tissue is removed for pathological examination and analysis. In many instances, the suspicious tissue is located in a subcutaneous site, such as inside a human breast. To minimize surgical intrusion into the patient's body, it is desirable to be able to insert a small instrument into the patient's body to access the targeted site and to extract the biopsy specimen therefrom.
Electrosurgical techniques have been used in a variety of biopsy procedures. In electrosurgery, high frequency electrical energy is typically applied to patient tissue through an active electrode, the electrical circuit being completed by a return electrode in contact with the patient's tissue. Electrical energy flowing through the tissue from the active electrode is effective to ablate tissue near the active electrode, forming an opening in the tissue and so allowing insertion of the instrument into a patient's body. A return electrode may be placed on the exterior of the patient's body or may be incorporated into the device itself. The return electrode is typically attached to the patient at a point remote from where the primary or active electrode contacts the tissue. However, in the case of a bipolar electrode for example, the return electrode may be disposed near to the active electrode. An electrosurgical biopsy instrument is disclosed and claimed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/159,467 for “Electrosurgical Biopsy Device and Method,” now U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,241, assigned to the assignee of the present application, and which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A variety of needle like tip designs have been developed to aid in the accessing of intracorporeal sites for biopsy and other procedures. Electrosurgical techniques have also been used in a variety of biopsy procedures to gain access to an intracorporeal site. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,241, assigned to the assignee of the present application, and which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The prior needle like tips do not always allow proper placement of the biopsy or other surgical device. Moreover, while the electrosurgical biopsy devices have been found to be effective in many instances, they are not suitable for use in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging.
While these electrosurgical biopsy devices have been found to be effective in many instances, they may not always be suitable for use in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging.